Not sure if this belongs here, I hope it does. Just wondering if theres a way I can close steam, or just not use Steam all together. Everything is installed, working, blah blah, I'm lvl 46, so its all fine, it's just personal preference (I hate things running in the background.)

If there is no way to do this, oh well. Just thought I'd ask here, considering all google is doing is leading me to cracks, which i wont be using.

I've already tried running the game, then opening Task Manager to stop Steam, but then Skyrim never maximizes again. Simple black screen. Then I have to close Skyrim... So that doesn't work (And I thought I was so clever when i got the idea lol... Damn steam already thought of that I guess)

Edit: @Freddo D:
Well that svcks. Not a fan of Steam. (Not that I hate it or anything, it's just like I said, I don't like programs running in the background >_> )

You need to run Steam to run Skyrim.

Many programs have to run in the background for your application to work, it's how the OS works. Now Skyrim requires Steam, don't think of it as a problem rather it is there to get your game working. Most systems have way more RAM than they need and Steam doesn't use too much.

and the Creation Kit.

At least you can run it offline permanently, disable all of the 'social' stuff and many extras (cloud) you might not care about.

Bethesda pulled the ole Bait and Switch shortly after release ( On initial release and as stated on the Retail package Steam was only required for the activation ) but the first patch they made a few days after release added a new wrapper that requires Steam to be running at all times in order to launch the game ( Yet the retail product still expressly states that Steam is only required for activation !!) -- It is really disappointing that Bethesda would resort to this and that in order to have the product work as advertised (Requiring Steam only to activate) requires using means that are in violation of their EULA so can not be discussed on this Forum (since it is their forum).